2017

USS S-28

USS S-28 (Courtesy of On Eternal Patrol)

The USS S-28 (SS-133) was commissioned on December 13, 1923 and spent 16 years taking part in various Navy exercises in the Caribbean and eventually in the Pacific. The S-28 was overhauled at Mare Island Naval Shipyard outside of San Francisco, California when the bombs fell on December 7th. She was one of several S-boats that serviced during World War II, and initially sent to Alaska to defend the Aleutians Islands against a possible Japanese invasion. With 49 US sailors on-board, the USS S-28 was lost during a naval training exercise of the coast of Oahu on July 4, 1944. For more information about the history of the S-28 check out On Eternal Patrol's website.

USS LYON COUNTY

USS LST-904 / USS Lyon County was an LST-542-class tank landing ship that served in the Far East in World War II (Sep-Dec 1945). She was awarded 1 battle star for her service and sunk as a target on 13 May 1959.

Though several surface photographs of USS Lyon County have been preserved, no sub-sea images of this vessel existed prior its discovery and documentation by STEP Ventures. Although the search for this vessel was conducted as part of a training activity in preparation for a more complicated exploration, it turned out to be a more challenging undertaking than anyone expected and a joy to work on for all involved!

Somewhat surprisingly, the reported depth profiles and geographic coordinates of this vessel, as recorded in the public domain, were kilometers off-base. Upon discovering no wreck at the expected location, STEP proceeded to systematically expand its search pattern and then tracked a directional debris field to ultimately discover and document the USS Lyon County's final resting place.

USS DEVILFISH

The USS Devilfish (SS-292) was a Balao class submarine that served in World War II (Dec 1944 - Aug 1945). She was awarded three battle stars for her service and transferred into inactive reserve status in April 1946. On 14 August 1968, the Devilfish was sunk by the USS Wahoo (SS-565) as part of a MK 16 MOD 8 torpedo test. For an interesting read about the USS Devilfish, check out Kamikazes!

STEP 2017 Expedition:

using the reported wreck location in the public domain, supplemented by an analysis of the deck logs of the USS Wahoo from the test date, STEP was able to quickly locate the USS Devilfish wreckage at a depth of over 3,500 meters. The forward and aft sections of the USS Devilfish are separated by nearly 2 NM and located almost 3 NM from the location reported in the public domain.